Starbucks & Me

As anyone who has read the news in the past few months knows, the Starbucks corporation came under fire when an employee in Philadelphia called the cops when two African American men came into the store and didn't order anything. They were waiting for a friend, who happened to be white. Starbucks closed all of its stores in the afternoon on May 29 for inclusion and racial awareness training for 175,000 U.S. based employees.

This morning, I read an article in the Seattle Times about Starbucks' continued efforts to decrease racial bias in their stores. Two experts in racial equity gave Starbucks a report on further ways to make inclusion a major part of their company. I began to wonder how much of this is a Starbucks problem versus an American problem. Of course, Starbucks was caught in a dramatic example of racial bias when their employee called the cops. Small companies don't make the national news when that kind of shit happens. Starbucks employees come from every state in the U.S. and there are probably people from every demographic working there, likely with a higher rate of young people and urban dwellers.

Yet, these people weren't born Starbucks employees nor did Starbucks give them their biases. They were hired by Starbucks with all of their biases already in place. Is Starbucks right to continue to work on anti-racial bias training? Absolutely. Is this just a Starbucks problem? Hell no.

As a result of the Philadelphia incident, Starbucks is now opening their bathrooms to anyone, regardless if they make a purchase. When I read this, I thought about the time I've spent in big city libraries where the bathrooms are open to anyone. There you will find lots of homeless and addicted people hanging out, staring blankly at a newspaper, suffering the internet or trying to bathe in the bathroom. The Seattle Times article says Starbucks will train employees to deal with patrons in crisis, telling them to call 211 for resources instead of calling the police:

"'This police alternative is essential,' McGhee and Ifill wrote. That national option should be augmented with local resources and programs, they added. Damodaran said the company’s new 'Third Place Policy' spells out ways for employees to help 'de-escalate disruptive behavior.'"

All of America could use this number where people reach out for a range of help, where people need help but it isn't an immediate crisis where someone's health or safety is at risk.

I read the article to the last paragraph:

"The Seattle company also recently revised its financial forecasts to reflect slower-than-expected sales growth, some of which was attributed to the training. Then Starbucks announced that chief financial officer Scott Maw is leaving later this year, sending the company’s stock to its lowest point in three years."

Which got the capitalist in me thinking--maybe this is a good time to buy Starbucks stock and keep it for the long haul.

Yes, I boycotted Starbucks for about a week (likely less) after the Philadelphia incident, and now I am licking my chops because the stock price dropped? What is wrong with me? Does that make me evil?

My Great Uncle Tom would tell us at holiday dinners to "buy low, sell high," obvious and common wisdom. He followed a collection of stocks and would buy when there was a dip in price. "I bought Coca-Cola before I went to Florida and when I got back, the price rose and I paid for the trip!" No, this guy wasn't simply a gambler. He and my Great Aunt Kay were frugal and savers. They paid cash for their Chicago bungalow in 1940-something house and lived there until they died in the 1990's. They couldn't have kids, so they saved and invested most of their income.

Will Starbucks crumble if they let everyone use their bathrooms, or can capitalism bring about social change? Can capitalism be good, or do good, or is it just about making money? As my new millennial co-worker would say, "yes." If this racism is an American problem and capitalism is the foundation of the American economy, then perhaps corporate America can help to solve the systemic issues of racial biases and homelessness. Is it their fault these issues exist? They cannot solely be blamed, but they can help create an open, fair and equitable place to work. They can create economic opportunities for employees and they can treat their customers with dignity and respect. Will they be perfect? Probably not. Can they make a sincere and focused effort and make measurable improvements? I hope so.

Is it something I can buy? Sure, I can pop $4.25 for a tall decaf mocha which will give me a fifteen minute break from work and give me 250 empty calories, but is $48 a share going to pay social and financial dividends?